Qatari investors linked to the country's royal family expected to make formal bid to buy Manchester United; Glazer family announced in November they are open to selling the club or seek new investors; Raine Group have asked interested parties to submit bids by Friday
Monday 13 February 2023 16:13, UK
Investors linked to the Qatari royal family are likely to make a bid for Manchester United before the end of this week.
A definite decision has not been made yet but Sky Sports News has been told a bid is likely.
Raine Group have asked interested parties to submit their bids by the soft deadline of this Friday. The bids will be one paragraph with the amount and proof of funds.
The Qatari bid has nothing to do with Paris Saint-Germain owners Qatar Sports Investments or PSG president and QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
The Qatari investors were contacted late last year to see if they would be interested in buying the club. Although they are interested, they will not overpay for the club. United owners the Glazer family are believed to be looking for a sale price of at least £5b.
Qatar has made no secret of the fact it wants to invest in more sports to build on what it sees as the success of the World Cup. Raine Group are expected to select two or three preferred bidders from the offers.
The ruler of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is said to be a Manchester United supporter.
At least four serious bids are expected for Manchester United next week. The others are are likely to be from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, USA and Saudi Arabia.
Ratcliffe is working with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. JP Morgan worked with the Glazers when they bought United in a £790m leveraged buyout in 2005. Ed Woodward was at JP Morgan at the time and worked on the deal.
The club's share price has doubled since the Glazers effectively put the club up for sale in November. United have lost £230m over past three years.
JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are prepared to provide financing to cover United's existing £660m debt if Ratcliffe decides to bid for the club.
JP Morgan was a major backer of the European Super League project 18 months ago.
An imminent Qatari bid for Manchester United should be a "wake-up call" to the Premier League to strengthen its ownership rules, Amnesty International has warned.
"Coming in the wake of the World Cup and strenuous efforts from the Qatari government to fashion a glitzy new image for the country, it seems highly likely that any Qatari bid for Manchester United would be a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project," Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK's economic affairs director, told the PA news agency.
"We saw only limited reforms on migrant workers' rights in Qatar in the lead-up to the World Cup, and there's been no movement whatsoever in ending the disgraceful criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people or institutional discrimination against women.
"It's been nearly 18 months since the hugely controversial Saudi takeover of Newcastle United and a Qatari bid for Manchester United would be yet another wake-up call to the Premier League over the need to reform its ownership rules.
"We're not necessarily opposed to the involvement of state-linked overseas financial consortia in English football, but the Premier League must urgently strengthen ownership rules to ensure they're human rights-compliant and not an opportunity for more sportswashing."
Sky Sports' Gary Neville:
"The main thing is that the Glazers leave as soon as possible. The second thing is that the club needs to be now in good hands and with someone who has feelings for the club.
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe was born in Manchester and knows the area. If he wins it, there will be a lot of happy Manchester United fans as I think he'll want to do the right thing by the club.
"Beyond the Glazers leaving, I don't think United can afford to be with another investment fund where they're expecting a return on the money. That's what worries me about private equity coming into football.
"People are still looking for a return on their money and a return on their investment. Manchester United need a debt-free football club with someone who is willing to put money into it.
"The problem is the price they're going to have to pay for it is going to be big so you're going to have to have deep pockets. I don't know if Sir Jim is going to be able to bring people in with him, but I'm hopeful that can happen.
"There could be any number of buyers - it won't just be Sir Jim bidding. I'd like to see criteria set for what a new Manchester United owner looks like.
"They have to be debt-free and make sure they invest in the facilities, the infrastructure, the training ground, the stadium.
"Making sure they put money into the football project, the fan experience and fan involvement: they're really important things as part of a manifesto that the Glazers haven't been transparent about.
"I just hope the highest bidder sees this as more than something they can flip in three years for a billion more.
"The priority for the new owners has to be winning. A winning Manchester United is difficult to stop - we've seen that in the past.
"With significant investment, the club then can become dangerous as a force again. The priority has to always be football performance and then you talk about fan experience. The stadium and the facilities have to be world class again."
